Re:Kinder
by A Crooked Lullaby
Summary: [This is a novelization of the Horror RPG game Re:Kinder. Warning: gore, depression, sexual references, and suicide mention] Third-grader Shunsuke goes to stay over at his grandmother's house. Upon his return home, he finds not his familiar hometown, but a ruined town of death. He meets his surviving friends and some other children their age, but a crueler reality awaits them...
1. Prologue

"W-Why?! Why would you...?"

The man backed up toward the wall, cornering himself and leaving him no way to escape. Blood was splattered across the walls and floor, a metallic scent starting to fill the room. He spoke again, his voice growing quieter, "Why? Huh."

For whatever reason, the room seemed pitch black to the man, all he could see was the blood, which glowed almost unnaturally. There was something in the air, the atmosphere. His dark eyes watched as a shape of a person flashed in and out of the darkness before finally staying, standing there.

The figure asked in a venomous, hatred-filled voice, "Wouldn't you know exactly why?" Before the man could answer, there was a sudden pain in his head and stomach, forcing him to lean against the wall. But he was in too much pain and he slid down it until he was sitting down, eyes clouded with fear. Red liquid covered him, matching his shirt and staining his smokey gray pants. He coughed up blood and shut his eyes in pain, "Oogh..." It felt like there was a gaping wound in his stomach, like it had been gouged out while it seemed his head had been hit repeatedly with a blunt weapon. This was so strange...the figure hadn't even touched him, he didn't even have a weapon! How did he...?

"Poor thing..." came the attacker's voice again, dripping with sarcasm and loathing. The bloody man watched as he moved closer, his footsteps making no noise against the black floor. "...will you kill me?" He knew it was a stupid question, but maybe he could talk his way out of it...

His hopes were dashed as the other answered, "Well, obviously?"

"Obviously..." He murmured, his eyelids drooping from pain and blood loss. Staring at his soon to be murderer, he nodded weakly and understood this had to be done. "I did nothing for your pain and sorrow...my natural punishment." There was silence in the blood filled air, until he looked the figure in the eyes and pleaded, "But tell me this before I go...tell me..." While it wasn't clear if the man didn't continue either because he was losing consciousness or he knew the other already knew what he was asking, the only answer the dark-eyed man received was, "...It's too late."

The darkness that covered most of the room spread, hiding even the bright red blood from sight, as well as the only two living beings in that room. It was impossible to see anything anymore. But while sight was covered by blackness, hearing was still crystal clear.

There was the harsh sound of flesh tearing and someone giving their last breath.


	2. That Dream

"Papa...when will mama get better?"

"She's not sick so...very soon."

"You always say that. How do I know you're not lying again?"

"...Hmm. Perhaps by the time you've read this story..."

Shunsuke's vision was black, he didn't see anything. But he heard voices. It was odd...but he couldn't seem to make out what the voices sounded like. He just knew what they were saying. What was going on...?

"Who is that?" He finally asked, and as he did so, his blue eyes were blinded by bright greens and yellows. While he stood upon gray tiles, all around him was lush grass and golden flowers. There was even a large, surprisingly calm, river not far in front of him.

His mind trying to remember how he got here, he mumbled to himself, "Where is this...?"

As a voice spoke up, he turned his attention to a brunette girl around his age. It seemed she heard his question and answered in a somewhat formal tone, "This is Dandelion Hill. All kinds of flowers grow here, but dandelions especially."

Shunsuke had never seen the girl before and he only answered with a simple, "Huh..." 'Guess that explains the name of the place...' he thought to himself as he gazed around at the flowers. They were pretty and stood still like statues, as not a single breeze blew.

However, the girl began talking again. This time, her voice was almost scorning. "He's a strange kid." Raising an eyebrow at her sudden change in tone, he asked her, "Huh? Who is?" "That boy by the riverside." Her dark eyes glanced over to said river before quickly continuing, "He hugs this book and stares into the river. And he lets his tears fall." She finished off her small explanation with one last comment, "...It's definitely weird."

He didn't say anything to the brunette and instead looked at the boy next to the river.

He, like the girl, had brown hair. He wore overalls with a yellow shirt striped with red. ...or was it a red shirt striped with yellow? Shunsuke couldn't see his face, but he could tell the boy was indeed crying as he spotted sudden ripples in the clear water. A frown formed onto his young face and he sadly thought, 'Yeah, he is crying...'.

"Somebody..."

"Huh?" Shunsuke's eyes widened as the boy actually spoke. His voice was weak, almost pleading.

"Somebody...take me away from here..."

Shunsuke wasn't sure what to say. Was the boy talking to him...? Or was he just mumbling to himself? The black-haired boy had no idea what to do, but trying to comfort the boy in someway, he just barely managed to say, "Um...", when something completely unexpected happened.

With a loud yell, the boy declared, "TIME BOMB, SET!"

"Huh?" was all Shunsuke could dumbly say at the sudden shift in atmosphere. Then, the boy began to countdown...

"5...4...3..."

"U-um?!" Shunsuke let out another confused cry, but that didn't stop the countdown, of course.

"2...1...!"

"Wh-wh-wha?!"

A sudden, loud explosion blasted his ears and his vision went black again, giving one last yell, "BWAAAAHHH?!"

Color flooded back to his eyes and he jumped up with a "HAAAAA!", only to find himself in his bedroom. His mother stood in front of him, wearing a blue dress and laughter in her blue eyes. "Looks like somebody's finally awake." was all she said, crossing her arms and a victorious smirk on her face. Poor Shunsuke, baffled beyond belief with so much happening in a short amount of time, could only ask, "W-what was...?"

His question was quickly answered and he stared at his mother with wide eyes, "A time bomb alarm clock! If you're not on time, BOOM!" She even stretched out her arms as far as they could go on each side for added effect to her explanation. Calming down a bit, she added, "...Of course, it doesn't actually explode, it just makes a loud explosion noise. Countdowns always bring on the pressure! What a great purchase this was." Her blue eyes began to glint again and she said in a teasing tone, "Since you're so lousy to wake up, I went down to Don Quijote and got it for 2980 yen."

"T-that's kind of expensive..." Shunsuke admitted, truly startled by the price, "But I can't argue with the results." He laughed a bit, making fun of how scared he had been when he heard the explosion sound.

"It's okay, I'll pay it back." His mother just shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal. "Pay it back? Huh?" He never got a direct answer, instead his mother saying, "You'll learn when you're older. Now hurry and get breakfast. Didn't I tell you you were staying with your grandpa and grandma over the holiday?"

The eight year old perked up and nodded, remembering when she had told him over dinner a few nights ago, "O-oh yeah! I'll go right away!" "Well, hurry." and with that, he watched his mother go back downstairs.

He recollected his thoughts and he couldn't help but drift back to that dream he had. "That dream again..." He mumbled to himself, an image of the strange boy appearing in his mind,"Just who is that boy...?"


End file.
